Can Harrison Barnes break out like James Harden if he goes to another team?

[dalton749]

A gallinari with defence is his ceiling I think

[giberish]

All of Barnes offense is based on the defense being off-balance to a degree when he gets the ball. This could be in transition, posting up a small guy because a bigger wing took Curry, taking an open 3 or beating a help defender who's closing out to stop a 3 attempt. He has no skills to beat a set wing defender.

He's still young enough to get better, but it won't be becoming a 1st option. It will be improving from average to above-average on D (great on D is highly unlikely), being a bit cleaner off the dibble after he beats a closing defender, having a slightly quicker release so he doesn't need as much room to get a good shot off. Improvement around the edges.

Any team forcing him into a 1st option role will see more PPG obviously, but a lot of bad shots (like old Kobe type bad shots).

Harden was very different. While he played about half his minutes as a 3rd option with Westbrook and Durant, he played the other half as a high-usage 1st option with a bunch of offensively limited role players in bench lineups. It was easy to expect him to be an effective high-usage 1st option because he already was one.

[BayWarrior]

Barnes peak on a championship level team is a 3rd option. Barnes has highlight reel potential on a nightly basis but his shaky handles will prevent him from ever becoming a superstar. He is high character player but struggles at times with confidence and that causes him to disappear on the court at times when his shot isn't falling in.

[Brooklyn_34]

I think he has the potential be a 25 ppg with great defense type player on another team. He will never be great with the Warriors with Curry and Thompson.

Can he score more on another team? Sure. But not 25 PPG....

Sorry, but I don't see this--at all. Maybe I am missing something.

[HeartBreakKid]

Harrison Barnes is a glue guy.

Harden was scoring 16 PPG on 66 TS% while essentially playing point guard. It was obvious to anyone who was paying attention to Harden that he was a franchise player (basically only people who assume bench players can't be franchise players thought otherwise, which is probably most people). Harden creates his own shot and shots for others at a way more advance level than Barnes does.

[FrontPageNews]

Lol what ? No. Not unless he goes somewhere else where he'll get wide open shots.

[Hornet Mania]

People have been expecting him to evolve into a star since his days at Carolina, but it never happens. I don't think he has it in him honestly, and I don't think it's all mental either because he does pretty well in end-game situations and has quite a few game winners under his belt. He's a fine 3rd/4th banana and that's all his skills are going to allow him to become. His HS hype exceeded his actual potential and though it has faded a bit I think it still drives expectations way beyond what anyone could reasonably expect of him. I watched almost all his games at Carolina and saw a fine future pro but not an all-star, and that's the way it has shaken out for him thus far.

3rd/4th best player on a great team is not a bad niche, honestly. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders, not a trouble maker, not an egomaniac, not a chucker, I don't understand why everyone keeps trying to push him out there as a potential star. If some team gives him the max and tries to force him into being a high-volume scorer they are going to be sorely disappointed. If a team pays him the well and expects him to make a valuable contribution in his 3rd/4th-option niche with great defense while providing a positive locker room presence they'll get exactly what they're looking for.

He's in a perfect spot with the Dubs, imo. If he tries to extend himself further it will just accentuate his flaws not unleash any hidden greatness.

[Jody Smokz]

How is he not an MVP level player? Lets not get stupid

To be an MVP level player? God no. He's a corner 3pt shooter who can take an off-balance or slower defender off the dribble from time to time. Not a great playmaker (but good at making the smart pass), and really not elite at anything other than the corner three. Terrific role player, but no, he's not a breakout waiting to happen. Harden had skills on skills on skills. Barnes is rigid.

Harden is not an mvp level player either.

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[Bertrob]

No. He's just not as talented as guys like Harden. He's a fringe all-star level starter, not a MVP peak like Harden had

[sip]

The responses in this thread leads me to believe that Barnes has become underrated. The guy is a really good basketball player on a team that doesn't need him to step up and be the man. When I look at Barnes I see a player that I believe could be every bit the player that Danny Granger was in his prime.

[Lenneth]

When Harden was on the bench, he won 6th man of the year. When Barnes was on the bench in 2nd year, he struggled to contribute much instead of dominating the 2nd unit. So, Warriors put Barnes back in starting line up to find some use for it. Barns just doesn't have a #1 guy mentality, and he seems to be happy being a glue guy.

[meekrab]

No. He's just not as talented as guys like Harden. He's a fringe all-star level starter, not a MVP peak like Harden had

Fringe all-star is a reach, even.

[ChuckChilly]

Think he would end up being another Trevor Ariza.

[kodo]

Harden was already very, very good in OKC. He didn't get star minutes, but his PER was 21 in OKC. His PER now is 24.

Barnes' scenario best case could be more like Butler or PG.

Jimmy Butler went from 13.5 PER to 21 PER; Paul George went from 16 PER to 20 PER.

I do think Barnes has more potential than what's being shown because GS is so damn good already, but Butler/Paul George jumps are exceedingly rare. It will be interesting to see if he leaves and how many other teams will bet on him.

[Chuck Everett]

Sorry guys, there are just not enough shots to go around on the Warriors for Barnes to score 20 ppg. We legit don't know if he could do more because he isn't needed to do more. Do people think Draymond could efficiently score 20 ppg without Klay and Curry? I honestly have no idea.

[turk3d]

For those you who haven't seen Barnes on a regular basis:

1) He's been at his best in clutch situations for several years (starting with first playoff series against San Antonio a few years back)

2) He has improved throughout the years, his handle has gotten better, he's now pretty good at posting up smaller players, his passing has improved as well as his shooting (both fgs and 3pt shooting) and so has his defense. His biggest issue has been consistency, which is normal for someone as young as he is. I expect he will get better as he gains more experience.

3) He doesn't turn the ball over very often (lowest on thee team on a per basis, 1.2, 0.8 for career)

4) In the process of developing some go to moves and creating his own shots (although not much reason to do this on Warriors) I expect he'll do more on if he goes to a different team where he has more responsibility. He's definitely improving.

No comparison to Harden as far as offensive skills are concerned. Very few do. Much better rebounder and defender however.

[Ballerhogger]

he can break out, but not close to a Harden break out.

well the less flopping the better

[MrBigShot]

He can be an all star, but not quite what Harden was last year.

[Austincys21]

I think he has the potential to break out like Kwahi (not as good but in a similar way) Barnes can become a terrific on ball wing defender and an elite 3pt shooter.

I was actually thinking that maybe a reason why GS is sooo good is because they have 4 stars In Curry, Green, Klay, and Barnes but it's hard to tell with what's around him.

I'm really hoping the Lakers throw max money at him this offseason. Any chance he can be obtained ? I really don't know

[toddlincoln]

I think he'd be a 20 ppg scorer on basically any other team. Not sure how that is such a hard thought to have -- he is super efficient, was a high scorer in college, is long and athletic. If they just ran 5 more plays a game for him (~15 shots), he'd be there.